Metal Ladder Disaster

Uncategorized / February 7, 2017

I often run across articles about metal ladders touching power lines. Today we wanted to talk about one of those articles.

Accidents with Metal Ladders

A man was working for a tree removal company when he was asked to help move a tall, aluminum extension ladder. The top-heavy ladder fell over when they tried to move it, falling into a group of power lines. Most of the group helping to move the ladder had only minor injuries, but one man had to have CPR.

What can we learn from this accident?

The main lesson is to use a fiberglass ladder whenever you will be by electricity since fiberglass ladders don’t conduct electricity.

Another lesson is to use updated equipment. There are plenty of lightweight extension ladders that can help you get work done safely. Some of these ladders are even able to be moved with one person. With lightweight ladders available, there should be no reason why an extension ladder requires four people to move it.

With just a little more training and prevention, this accident could have been prevented.

Hopefully, we can learn from this accident and not make the same mistake.